


hurts like heaven

by AlexSeanchai



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Akumatized Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Broken Friendships, F/M, Identity Reveal, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Podfic Welcome, Season/Series 03 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2020-07-11 17:36:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19931887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexSeanchai/pseuds/AlexSeanchai
Summary: Your heart is a weapon the size of your fist. Keep fighting, keep loving, keep living.





	hurts like heaven

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: "[you use your heart as a weapon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8KV0mzqTXY)" (and [what that reminded me of](https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/399674-your-heart-is-a-weapon-the-size-of-your-fist))

Alya says one word too many, against which Marinette has no defense—the word is _flake_ , after a day of Chloé's jibes and Lila's slanders, a month of hardly a friendly (unmasked) word, three months of quiet heartbreak, three years of lies and secrets, and Adrien's _right there_ : the word's untrue, but not a lie—and there's a shriek, a clamor, and Hawkmoth whispers in her ear.

"You want me to hurt Ladybug and Chat Noir," says Marinette, clinging to the lucky charm Adrien once gave her, and it's too late for the first one (and she can't relax her grip) but it will _never_ be time for the second. "And Adrien," and something on this heartline pings, "and Alya—Maman, Papa—Chat Noir—Nino, Chloé, Adrien—" (that _ping_ again) "—Alix, Kagami, Luka, Manon—Alya, Chat Noir, Adrien—" ( _ping_ )

"Hey, Princess," says her partner.

"Don't _touch_ me," snaps Marinette, "he'll get you too—"

Chat Noir shakes his head, wrapping one arm around her, and folds her forward, her head falling to his shoulder, her ear brushing his neck—

She feels him jolt, and remembers, and _won't_ think why—she starts chanting classmates' names, her teammates' names, _beloved_ names, and every fourth or fifth one is Alya (unacknowledged), Chat Noir (a scorching sting), or Adrien (a _ping_ )—

"Wouldn't want to shatter the poor man's heroic dreams, would we?" murmurs Chat Noir in her ear, as (careful of his claws) he strokes her back, and she feels his teeth close around that earring and tug it free.

Marinette—she has no choice but to trust him; she would choose nothing else—slips "Cardboard Girl" into her chant, and hears confusion on the far end of this heartline tug-of-war: "Rena, Carapace, Ryūko, Chat Noir—" (ouch ouch ouch _ouch_ ) "—Maman, Papa, Adrien—"

That strikes a _gong_.

"He wants the heroes dead," realizes Marinette, pushing up to watch Chat Noir's face (he's caressing her other cheek now, gentle, and that earring pops off, unobserved), "and he doesn't care about my other names—but Adrien." His ears flatten and his pupils round. "Adrien's off limits," Marinette tells him: "Adrien's his _son_!"

Chat Noir blanks his face; "Well," he says, perfectly even. "Come on, Marinette, I need to not fight you today."

The butterfly hasn't loosed its grasp on Adrien's lucky charm. "I'm not strong enough."

"Are so," Chat Noir tells her. "Strongest heart in Paris."

She's not. She's _not_. "Does no good in pieces on the floor."

"That's all right," he says. "I'll hold you together. Anyway," he says with soft eyes and a too-bright grin, trying to ease open her grasp on the lucky charm Adrien gave her, "how can anything bad happen with my Marinette lucky charm?"

He winks.

Oh.

The butterfly rips free of the beads.

 _Oh_.

Her partner scoops her up and whisks her out of sight.

 **Oh**.

He puts her earrings in her hand and rushes back to class, and three heartbeats later Ladybug follows: this time Alya's Lady Wifi, but Chat Noir's already got her phone: break this, catch that, pound it.

"Want to go win this?" Chat Noir asks, and Ladybug grins and runs, flicking off texts to teammates: Hawkmoth knows they know him—hell, he knew they knew him then! who akumatized Gabriel Agreste? she bets not-yet-Mayura—and they'll want all the help they can get. She holsters her yo-yo, and Chat Noir is running beside her, and then they're running hand in hand.

"Gotta hand it to you," says Chat Noir, doing a good imitation of someone whose father hasn't been breaking his heart, "you're spectacularly good at keeping your emotions in hand."

Ladybug elbows him without her pace faltering, without letting go. "I'll _give_ you a hand," she threatens.

"Well, victory _is_ at hand," Chat Noir points out, and—to see him smile—Ladybug lets herself laugh.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [Dreamwidth](https://alexseanchai.dreamwidth.org/) and [Tumblr](http://alexseanchai.tumblr.com/).


End file.
